Moluscan Exploitation at the Lighthouse Bayou Site (8GU114), A Multi-Companent, Large-Gastropod Midden at St. Joseph Bay, Florida

Date of Award

2004

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Baram, Uzi

Keywords

Prehistoric Archaeology, Shell Midden, Florida Archaeology

Area of Concentration

Anthropology

Abstract

Archaeological evidence from six small shell middens around St. Joseph Bay, Florida, reveals a range of prehistoric occupations exploiting large gastropods: evidence from one such site, Richardson's Hammock (8Gu10), suggests the beginning of a shelifishing industry as early as the Deptford Period, around 1000 BC-AD 200 (White. et al 2002). Recent investigations at the nearby Lighthouse Bayou site (8Gul14), an accretional midden, delimit what may have been the final stages of molluscan exploitation around the bay, with a discreet occupation--Pile 2--carbon-dated to between AD 1680-1770 (White 2003b:8). This paper outlines the cultural phases of the six known large-gastropod middens around the bay. With the understanding that midden composition and formation are necessary indicators of wider subsistence strategies, the molluscan assemblages of two culturally- and spatially-discreet occupations at Lighthouse Bayou have been analyzed, and are presented and discussed with regard to exploitative strategies. Pile 12, the largest discreet accretion at the site, has been carbon dated to around AD 1480, and had exclusively-Fort Walton artifacts. Pile 2, the most-recent occupation at the site, had ceramics resembling Apalachee and other northwest Florida Native American types, although ethnicity of the occupants has not yet been determined (2003b:8-9). Each discreet molluscan assemblage consisted of two separate samples: one of large shells, identified on-site (at-unit), and set aside for later backfilling; and one recovered from the waterscreens, with all identifications made in the laboratory. Identified mollusks were quantified by the minimum number of individuals (MNI), weights, and shell height (SH). Biomass, or soft-tissue weight, estimates were made for shells in the at-unit samples. The results show that Lighthouse Bayou's historic occupation was significantly smaller, and most-likely briefer, than the site's Fort Walton component, Pile 12. Changes in species representation between piles are also noted. Two possible explanations for the differences are presented and discussed: (1) microenvironmental changes in the bay, that directly or indirectly altered either large gastropod or bivalve populations; and (2) cultural differences between the two occupations, such as changing tastes. Both accretions were found to be remarkably shallow, resulting from fairly rapid accumulation. At Pile 2, significant numbers of large gastropods were not found below 20 centimeters. It is known that the Native American populations in northwest Florida quickly dwindled with the coming of the Spanish, and were almost eradicated from the region by the mid-sixteenth century (Doran et al. n.d.). The exploitative practices of Lighthouse Bayou's two occupations are not isolated from those of its neighboring midden sites. This project attempts to shed light on an aboriginal marine subsistence that lasted some 3,000 years around St. Joseph Bay.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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